sounds of Chicago
One-word review: mesmerizing.
Art Ensemble of Chicago, live, France (Chateauvallon), 1970
**********
lagniappe
reading table
Despite all my inner crumblings,
I’m still able to recognize a perfect day:
sea without shadow,
sky without wrinkles,
air hovering over me like a blessing.—Nina Cassian (1924-2014), “Summer X-Rays” (fragment)
voices I miss
Rahsaan Roland Kirk, live, Switzerland (Montreux Jazz Festival), 1972
**********
lagniappe
art beat
Bruce Davidson (1933-), New York, 1980s
never enough
John Coltrane Quartet (JC, tenor saxophone; McCoy Tyner, piano; Jimmy Garrison, bass; Elvin Jones, drums), “Impressions” (J. Coltrane), live (TV show), 1963
**********
lagniappe
random thoughts
What did we do to deserve such a beautiful world?
*****
art beat
Francis Wolff, Blue Trane recording session (JC, tenor saxophone; Lee Morgan, trumpet; Curtis Fuller, trombone), Hackensack, N.J., 1957
*****
A big birthday shout-out to my oldest listening companion, my brother Don, with whom (as I’ve noted before) I’ve shared more musical experiences than I could ever count: the Beatles (Comiskey Park, 1965), the Velvet Underground (Kinetic Playground, 1968), the MC5 (Lincoln Park, 1968) . . .
more
Sun Ra & His Arkestra (with John Gilmore, tenor saxophone, et al.), “Take the ‘A’ Train” (B. Strayhorn), live, Switzerland (Montreux Jazz Festival), 1976
Happy (100th) Birthday, Sonny!
Sun Ra (AKA Herman “Sonny” Blount), May 22, 1914-May 30, 1993, keyboard player, composer, bandleader, singular spirit
Today, celebrating his centennial, we revisit a few favorites.
Sun Ra All Stars (SR, keyboards; Don Cherry, pocket trumpet, vocals; Lester Bowie, trumpet; Archie Shepp, tenor saxophone, vocals; John Gilmore, tenor saxophone; Marshall Allen, alto saxophone, percussion; Philly Joe Jones, drums; Clifford Jarvis, drums; Famadou Don Moye, drums, percussion), live, Germany (Berlin), 1983
***
Sun Ra & His Arkestra, live, Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival, 1974
***
Sun Ra Arkestra (SR, piano; June Tyson, vocals; John Gilmore, tenor saxophone, et al.), “Springtime Again,” live, Rome, 1980
***
Sun Ra (piano) & Walt Dickerson (vibraphone), “Astro” (Visions, 1978)
**********
lagniappe
radio
WKCR (Columbia University): Sun Ra all day—tomorrow, too.
voices I miss
Lester Bowie (1941-1999), trumpet (MCOTD Hall of Famer), with Brazz Brothers, “Summertime” (G. Gershwin), live, Germany (Jazz Baltica), 1993
**********
lagniappe
art beat: more from last week at the Art Institute of Chicago
Christopher Wool (1955-), Maggie’s Brain (1995)
sounds of New York
Nate Wooley’s Seven Storey Mountain,* live, New York, 2014
#1
#2
#3
#4
**********
lagniappe
art beat: more from Thursday at the Art Institute of Chicago
Christopher Wool (1955-)
*****
*Nate Wooley, trumpet; Chris Dingman, vibraphone; Matt Moran, vibraphone; C. Spencer Yeh, violin; Ben Vida, electronics; Chris Corsano and Ryan Sawyer, drums; Gareth Flowers, Tim Leopold, and Chris DeMeglio, trumpets; Chris McIntyre, Jen Baker, and Will Baker, trombones.
Happy (115th) Birthday, Duke!
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, April 29, 1899-May 24, 1974
pianist, composer, bandleader
“Black Beauty,” 1928
*****
“C Jam Blues,” 1942
*****
“Mood Indigo,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” 1943
**********
lagniappe
radio
WKCR (Columbia University): all Duke, all day.
sounds of New Orleans
Let Me Do My Thang: Rebirth Brass Band (Keith Reynaud, 2000)
**********
lagniappe
random thoughts
Day after day tiptoeing through minefields, until finally our luck runs out.
Happy (92nd) Birthday, Mingus!
Charles Mingus, bassist, composer, bandleader
April 22, 1922-January 5, 1979
Charles Mingus Quintet (CM, bass; Eric Dolphy, alto saxophone; Booker Ervin, tenor saxophone; Ted Curson, trumpet; Dannie Richmond, drums) with guest Bud Powell (piano), “I’ll Remember April” (G. de Paul, P. Johnston, D. Raye), live, France (Antibes Jazz Festival), 1960
**********
lagniappe
radio
WKCR (Columbia University): all Mingus, all day.
music clip of the day 